YOVO, a company which bills itself as the world's first "cryptocurrency mobile phone network", have chosen Malta as the destination to establish its global headquarters, the government announced.

In a statement issued today, the government said London-based YOVO, which is "powered by blockchain", would be employing 30 team members in Malta, with an initial investment of €20 million, and more to follow.

“It is evident that operators within this field are looking for legal certainty and that is what we, as a government, intend to provide,” Digital Economy parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri said.

Schembri underscored that YOVO’s decision to pick Malta as its location for its headquarters will help the government’s efforts to turn Malta into “ The Blockchain Island”.

Richard Skaife, YOVO's founder and CEO, said spoke of his pride at being able to call Malta the company's home, higlighting that the island is the current global leader in blockchain technology, making his company part of a broader blockchain community already present here.

Schembri said YOVO’s decision to relocate to Malta comes just in time, as three bills that assure legal certainty in the field have reached their second reading in Parliament.

“This news comes at perfect timing. Just today, the three bills—Malta Digital Innovation Authority Bill, Innovation Technological Arrangements Services Bill and Virtual Financial Assets Bill—are now at the second reading stage, and we look forward to enacting them into law,” he said.